Hoggar: Island in the Sahara

Stephen Fenech was born in Toronto Canada to Maltese parents. He works full time in the television industry, but spends a great deal of time travelling the planet (193 countries so far) as a photojournalist and award-winning filmmaker. His documentary Chad Exodus won various prizes in several festivals, including the Viewer’s Choice Award in the 2013 Malta International Film Festival and the Grand Jury Award in the 2013 Yosemite International Film Festival, which qualified it for Oscar contention. His travel book, Earth: Been there Done that Got the T-shirt, Book One: The Big Kahuna was published in 2016. It highlights a three-year trip around the planet. Its follow up: Book Two: Missing Pieces to the Global Puzzle was published in 2017. He has also authored a science fiction novel: Beacon: A Robot’s Odyssey, also published in 2017. When not writing, he enjoys visual art, beach volleyball, windsurfing, scuba diving and playing guitar. His photography has provided him many opportunities to reach young people by giving presentations to schools on topics that range from World Religions to Climate Change. He was shortlisted for the Mars One Mission, making the top 600 candidates from an initial roster of 203 000 international applicants. A few years ago, he became the surrogate mother for two orphaned baby racoons—the most humbling experience of his life.